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GULFNAV-
Shipping firm Gulf Navigation (GulfNav) turned to a loss in 2024, with a net loss after tax at AED 20.1 mn, as the company focused on strategic investment decisions like fleet modernization and upgrades, according to its earnings release (pdf) and financials (pdf). The company’s revenues fell 16% y-o-y to AED 88.7 mn.
Looking ahead, the company is expecting a recovery in the demand for petrochemical shipping services, with positive revenue expectations in 2025. Gulfnav is also set to acquire Brooge Energy’s assets for AED 3.3 bn, after its shareholders approved the transaction in March.
ORASCOM CONSTRUCTION-
Orascom Construction saw its net income inch up 0.4% y-o-y in 2024, coming in at USD 117.3 mn, according to its latest earnings release (pdf). Despite a 21% y-o-y increase in net income from its US operations and a 101.8% increase in net income from its Belgium-based subsidiary BESIX, a 25.7% y-o-y dip in net income from its operations in the Middle East and Africa — its largest source of income — helped bring the overall figure down.
Revenues for the year fell 3.3% y-o-y to USD 3.3 bn, which was driven by an 11% y-o-y fall in revenues from the MEA region. Revenues from US operations were up 5.5% y-o-y. “Revenue comparison y-o-y in Egypt was impacted by the devaluation of the EGP in March 2024, while the increase in revenue in the US reflects project execution and backlog growth,” the release read.
The company’s consolidated backlog dipped 5.8% y-o-y in 2024 to USD 7.6 bn. The dip came on the back of 2023’s figures being put together using the exchange rate at the end of 2023. Using today’s rate of around EGP 50 to the greenback, the backlog would’ve registered a 2.6% y-o-y increase. Projects in Egypt made up 67.3% of the backlog, followed by the US with 21.1% and the UAE with 7.4%. New awards were down 48% y-o-y to USD 3 bn, which the group attributed to the “above-average level” of projects it was awarded in 2023.
On a quarterly basis, net income fell 29.2% y-o-y to USD 31 mn in 4Q 2024, impacted by one-off expenses of USD 20 mn related to the MEA region, while revenues declined 6.7% y-o-y to USD 935 mn. New awards dropped 78.3% y-o-y to USD 412 mn during the quarter.
What they said: “We continue to successfully navigate a challenging and uncertain environment. Our strong fundamentals, focus on performance excellence, strict project controls, and disciplined project selection have allowed us to achieve our current results and positioned us well for the period ahead,” CEO Osama Bishai said.
